


on a scale

by duaa



Series: when i wake up i see [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Crying, Fluff, Happy Ending, Jokes, Logince - Freeform, M/M, Prequel, adapt improvise overcome babey, for some reason ‘i’ wasnt being capitalised so i just wrote ‘L’ but lowercase, idk what else to tag lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25421308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duaa/pseuds/duaa
Summary: "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this exp-""Ew!"
Relationships: Logic | Logan Sanders/Creativity | Roman ‘Princey’ Sanders
Series: when i wake up i see [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1841365
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	on a scale

**Author's Note:**

> prequel to [ as long as you're here ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23982409)
> 
> everyone wanted a sequel and my brain was like ah what about no?? so heres a prequel instead
> 
> dw dw a sequel will come soon

"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this exp-"

"Ew!" 

Logan's head snapped up, eyes flitting to meet Roman's. There were many things Roman did not like and found gross. He didn't like some of the experiments Logan used to do, the ones with ammonia. He didn't like baked beans. He didn't like slime, especially the type Remus and Patton revelled in. Logan had been reading out a report. No ammonia, no baked beans, no slime. Whilst Roman did not actively enjoy statistics, he never... well, he never said that they were 'ew'. And Roman's criteria were rigid and, quite frankly, commendable. The rubric was never vague, always a quick 'yes!' or a 'no!'.

"Ughhhh." Roman moaned, face crumpling the way it did when Thomas got yelled at, when Logan lectured him, when _Patton_ lectured him. Logan wracked his brain trying to think of when he could have been condescending, patronising, when he could have upset Roman when -

"That's such a boring scale!" 

Logan blinked. 

"What do you mean, boring scale?" Textures, smell, taste - scientific enquiry. That was different. Boring never equated 'ew'. Boring was ugh, boring was an eyeroll, boring was a tap-tap-tap on the floor, on the table. Boring was slumped shoulders and passive expressions. 

"I mean, isn't it kinda arbitrary?" Logan considered this. "Like, my five is probably different from your five, right?" 

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, you're right, Roman." Roman nodded, hair sweeping into his eyes. He quickly fixed it, sweeping them back.

"How about this, you jazz it up! Like, um, say the question was, uhh, how much do I like fighting the Dragon Witch!"

"Yeah?"

"So, my answer would be," Roman closed his eyes, pondering. His eyelashes were... extremely long, resting on his cheeks. Logan wasn't sure why he noticed that. An extremely minor detail. An odd thing to notice. How close were they sitting, they had to be sitting close for Logan to notice that. "I would say, I'd do it for free." 

"That... doesn't make sense."

*

"Aaaand - done! Voila!" Logan nodded in appreciation, before picking up his plates. Patton and Logan had an altercation. A slight one at that, this wasn't something Logan truly cared about and Patton rarely fought. With anyone. So, a healthy competition was the answer. Patton would make his traditional pasta. Logan would add what he suggested. Roman and Virgil would taste (Roman had been roped in after Logan whined about 'unfair and biased judges - Virgil would never be honest, come on, Patton, you know this, he'd just pick you, this isn't fair and I won't stand for it!') and decide. Logan expected to... receive a tie. Or lose, he knew he wouldn't win.

Again, this wasn't something Logan truly cared about, so the outcome was an afterthought. 

Patton was washing his hands, getting ready to go, when Logan heard a muffled 'whoa!'. Time to investigate. Patton quickly picked up his plates and they left the kitchen, to see Roman and Virgil talking by the dining table. Virgil was wringing his hands - not in his usual, nervous way, but in a more excited way. Roman wasn't wearing his usual outfit and -

Roman wasn't wearing his usual outfit.

He was wearing one of Thomas' favourite outfits, black shirt, red jacket, blue jeans. On Thomas, it looked fine. 

Roman looked _fine_. 

Logan wasn't sure when they sat down, when he introduced his dish, when they started eating. He just knew that one moment he was standing and the next he wasn't, eyes fixated on Roman. Ahem. 

"On a scale of one to ten, please rate our respective dishes." Patton stuck his nose out at him and he scoffed. All in good fun. 

"Um, Pat, yours has that authentic Pat taste, so 10 on that. Logan, I didn't hate yours, and you're my friend - but!" he paused, "I - you doubted me. You thought I was biased, so I'm deducting a point for that. You get a 9, L, and I can't believe you don't trust me." 

Patton giggled and they turned to Roman. "Logan, do you think I'm going to answer your question?"

He did. "What else would you do?" Patton said, narrowing his eyes. 

"Listen up, nonmalting barley-" Virgil's piercing laugh stopped Roman, who looked all too delighted to be stopped. "- you know this scale is boring! Change it up!" 

Good god. Logan thought about it. "Uh, on a scale of not good to great -"

Roman shook his head. 

"On a scale of... 'I would throw it in the bin' to, uh, to 'I would eat it everyday'?" 

Roman tilted his head, deliberating. Virgil fiddled with his zippers. Logan hoped he nailed it. He hoped Roman liked it. Roman looks at Logan, face unusually blank, before splitting into the widest grin, brighter than diamonds, brighter than the sun could ever hope to be and Logan's heart lurched, chest constricting as he smiled back. 

"Aw, l lost!" Patton exclaimed before extending his hand. They shook on it, and then Patton picked up Roman's plate and scarfed it down with animated ferocity.

*

"Well, okay guys, that's what I'm doing, then. l - sorry, Roman -"

"No, no, no, Thomas, no - no need to apologise. To me. Um, I'll see you guys later, uh, yeah. Bye." 

Logan frowned. Whilst he had been ignored yet again, he was rather used to this. Roman, on the other hand... 

There was no way he was taking this lightly. 

Logan knew that Roman had been annoyed by Patton these past few weeks, the power dynamics had been shifting just a tad bit too much for, well, anyone's liking. Thomas always chose the selfless thing over anything else presented to him. Logan wanted him to take some time to produce better content - Patton wanted him to do liveshows instead. ('Aw, we can't disappoint our kiddos! They're waiting for liveshows, Thomas, you promised!'). Thomas chose to do liveshows. His content remains the same. Virgil wanted him to stay home for a few days to relax - Patton wanted him to go to his cousin's baby shower. ('But Thomas, she's your sister! She needs you there!') Thomas went to the baby shower. He hyperventilated in the bathroom. 

Roman wanted him to go to VidCon and do a sketch with some of his friends. Patton wanted him to go home for his brother's promotion party. ('He's your brother, he would never miss such an important part of your life!')

('It's just a promotion!')

('It's the right thing to do, kiddo!') 

('You're missing an opportunity that can help you so, so much!')

('Family comes first!') 

Logan personally wanted Thomas to go to VidCon. He usually sided against Patton, seeing as how Patton made decisions influenced solely by sentiments and emotions, and Logan preferred... logic. Patton got what he wanted. Roman did not. How many times did Thomas actually do something Roman suggested with diluting it with other ideas? How many times did Thomas let Roman do anything? 

The answer was flinchingly cold. 

He looked at Thomas. Patton was rattling off his usual speech, designed to make Thomas feel better but always resulting in the same grimace and resignation. Logan wasn't needed. (For now, hopefully). So he sank out, reappearing in the hallway in front of Roman's room. The door was flung open, and Logan could hear the faucet running in the bathroom. He stepped inside, padding along the plush red carpet. Roman changed his room's layout almost everyday. His bed was now pushed against a window overlooking the Imagination, his easel was replaced by a vanity with a plethora of tubes and packages Roman did not need. A walk-in closet, door thrown open to show the mess inside to the world. Another door, more ornate, more bold - the entrance to the Imagination. 

Logan traced the outline of the handle before pushing it open, peeking inside. As he had suspected - it was an absolute mess. The rolling, lush meadows were replaced with barren dirt, the occasional tumbleweed. The usual outline of Roman's castle was nowhere to be seen, plains spreading out for as far as Logan could see. Roman was not in a good mood. He closed the door behind him, eyes sweeping over Roman's room once again.

There was no table. No desk, no bedstand. No papers scattered, no pencils rolling. No easel, no desk - Logan gingerly stepped into the walk-in closet, full of bland T-shirts and jackets. No costumes. He stepped back to the vanity, turning the labels towards him: concealer, in different forms. A compact disk. A palette, full of the same tint. There was nothing in the drawers, just the few products lying on the pink surface.

Nothing to create with. 

Logan opened the drawer and brushed all the concealers inside. He summoned a sticky note, and a pen, writing out a note to Roman. After placing it inside and shutting the drawer, he walked up to window by Roman's bed. The very same expanse greeted him, dry and unforgiving. 

Roman didn't deserve this. He was being stifled, being chained and held down. It wasn't fair. 

The door creaks. Logan turns and Roman stalks out, head hung low, shoulders slumped. His hair is dull, sitting atop his head, face hidden. Logan doesn't like seeing him like this. 

"Uh, on a scale of 'who cares' to", he looks around the room, silently praying that it works, "to 'my katana is already out', how much do you dislike Patton right now?"

Roman lurches, arms thrown around his shoulders and they both go down, knees buckling. Logan wraps his arms around Roman's shaking form, rubbing his back. Roman sniffles, squeezing tighter. 

"l love you so, so much, you nerd."

**Author's Note:**

> ayo  
> lmk if you see a typo  
> hope you liked it ❤️💕


End file.
